Ruffler attachment for sewing machines



April 22, 1952 c. G. BAEHR ET AL 2,593,519

RUFFLER ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed June 29, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 n i Ten rs m m 44 CM 4. a n W F f 6 atlornegs April 1952 c. G. BAEHR ET AL 2,593,519

RUFFLER ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed June 29, 1949 Q 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 I a g lhmentora g (Inornegs Patented Apr. 22, 1952 RUFFLER ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Carl G. Baehr, West Haven, and Herbert H. Russell, New Haven, Conn., assignors to The Greist Manufacturing Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application June 29, 1949, Serial No. 102,102

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a sewing-machine attachment and more particularly to an attachment designed to be attached to the usual household sewing machine in order to make a ruffie or gather in the material fed to the machine.

In devices of this character it is desirable to provide for various adjustments not only to make finer or coarser gathers or ruflles but also to provide for the spacing apart of the ruffles, that is to vary the number of sewing-machine stitches between adjacent rufiies. It has been found convenient to provide a rufller with such adjustments that a rufile can be made at each sewing stitch or at every sixth stitch of the machine or at every twelfth stitch of the sewing machine, "so that, besides making a rufiie at each sewing stitch, the device can be adjusted to become a six-stitch ruffler, or a twelve-stitch ruifier.

Also, in the present device, provision is made.

for discontinuing entirely the action of the ruffling mechanism even when the attachment is in place so that plain stitching or plain sewing may be effected without removing the attachment from the machine.

Therefore, while there are four different adjustments which may be made with the present attachment, the device is so designed that it is of relatively simple construction and may be economically manufactured.

Moreover, in setting the device for finer or coarser gathers or rufiles, the adjusting mechanism is so arranged as to indicate the setting of the adjusting mechanism so that even though this setting is disturbed or changed for any reason, the device may be reset to exactly the same position to make a rufile of the same character without experimentation or cut and try operations.

One object of the present invention is to pro-- vide a sewing-machine rufiler adjustable to efiect single stitch, six-stitch or twelve-stitch ruffiing which is of relatively simple construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sewing-machine rufiier attachment having new and improved means for adjusting the width of the ruflle or gather.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sewing-machine ruilier which is adjustable for various types of milling work and so constructed that the adjustments may be performed quickly and easily by an untrained operator, and which attachment is at the same time capable of being economically manufactured.

A still' further object of the invention is to provide a rufiier attachment having a new and improved means for adjusting and spacing apart of the ruffles so that the device may readily be changed from a six-stitch rufiier to a twelvestitch ruffier, for example, without the necessity for the use of complex parts relatively expensive to manufacture.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a rufiler attachment for sewing machines which may be readily adapted for use with household sewing machines made by various manufacturer's.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a sewingmachine ruffler embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the reverse side of the device;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the attachment;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the parts in different positions;

Fig. 5 is a partial top plan view showing the actuating pawl in a position different from that shown in .Fig. 3, or the position occupied when the device is employed as a six-stitch rufiier;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the position of the pawl when the device is employed as a single-stitch ruflier;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2 showing the position of the pawl when the device is employed for plain sewing;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view on line 88 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 10 is a detailed view of the masking wheel;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of the ratchet wheel;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of our device;

Fig. 13 is a side view of the portion of the fork arm which carries the pawl; and

Fig. 14 is a detail elevational view of the forward part of the fork arm.

To illustrate one preferred embodiment oithe invention, we have shown in Figs. 1 to 11 of the drawings a sewing machine rufller attachment comprising a frame member It. This member comprises a fiat piece of sheet metal, all parts of which lie in the same plane and it extends forwardly to provide a toe portion-H to which may be secured an adaptor I 2, 'which';"as will be understood by those skilled in the art, is designed to be secured to the presser bar of the sewing ma- 3 chine. chines of different makes, it is only necessary to secure by riveting the proper adaptor to the toe portion H of the frame in order to arrange the attachment for any of the usual sewing machines on the market. Thus, in order to make such a change, no portion of the frame or of the other mechanism need be changed.

Pivoted to the frame at I4 is the pendulum lever l5 which extends downwardly from its pivot point and is in turn pivoted at its lower end to a rufiling blade carrier I6, which is guided between the frame member l9 and a guide member I! secured to the frame.

This carrier is provided with a laterally extending arm I8 to which is secured the resilient ruiliing blade I9 which is designed during backand-forth movements of the carrier |t to be reciprocated over a fixed blade 20, the material which is being operated upon passing between the two blades in the usual manner.

Also pivoted upon the pivot pin I4 is the fork arm 22 provided with a forked front end 23 adapted to'be secured to the needle bar so as to be scillated about its pivot point by the reciprocation of the needle bar. At the rear end of the fork arm is provided an upstanding finger 24 designed to be received in one of a plurality of elongated openings 25, 25 and 25 provided in a pawl carrier 25.

The pawl carrier 28 is pivoted upon the pivot pin 21 carried by a laterally extending lug 28 on the fork arm 22 and, as shown in Fig. 2, the carrier is permitted movement along the pin 21 but is normally urged toward the lug 28 by a com-.

pression spring 35 acting between the head of the pin 2'! and the body of the carrier. Thus, the pawl carrier may be raised upwardly from the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for example, so as to be disengaged from the finger 24 and then moved laterally so as to engage the finger in any one of the desired openings 25, 25 and 25 The pawl carrier is also provided with an additional opening 32 which is not sufficiently large to receive the body of the finger 24 but will receive the extreme end of this finger, as shown in Fig. '7, to hold the pawl carrier in a raised inoperative position as shown in full lines in this figure. Thus, the carrier has four positions with respect to the finger 24.

The pawl carrier is provided with a depending pawl member 34 which is adapted to engage a shoulder 35 formed on the pendulum lever above the pivot l4, so as to actuate this lever and move the milling blade l9 forwardly upon an upward stroke of the needle bar. In order to move the rufiling blade rearwardly after a forward operative movement thereof, the fork arm 22 is provided with a toe or kicker 35 adapted to engage a rotatable cam 31 pivoted at 38 upon the pendulum |5. The toe 36 is adapted to strike the cam 31 upon the downward movement of the needle bar and fork arm 22 and it will be apparent that the amplitude of movement imparted to the lever i5 by the downward movement of the needle bar will depend upon the adjustment of the cam 31. If the cam is adjusted in'a counterclockwise direction about its pivot 38, as shown in Fig. 4, the distance of the point of contact of the toe 36 with the surface of the cam from the pivot point 33 will be lessened-and, therefore, the pendulum will be moved to a lesser extent- If the cam 31 is moved in a clockwisedirection, as shown in Fig. 4, the amplitude of the throw given As these adaptors differ with sewing ma- 4 to the pendulum l5 and, therefore, to the ruining blade will be increased and an extreme range of movement is provided by a projection 39 formed upon the cam 31.

The pendulum I5 is provided with a semi-circular or segmental portion 4| and the cam 37 has a laterally extending operating finger 42 by which it may be moved about its pivot 38. This finger is arranged upon an arm 43 secured to the cam 31, which arm is adapted to cooperate with indicia 44 provided upon the part 4| of the pendulum to indicate the setting of the cam 32 so that if the setting is disturbed for any reason, it may always be returned exactly to its former position without experimentation.

The part 4| of the pendulum I5 is provided with a slot 45 and an adjusting screw 45 extends through this slot and is threaded into the cam member 31, as shown at 41. This screw is provided with an enlarged portion 48 adapted to engage and bind against the part 4| of the pendulum l5 to secure the cam 37 in any desired position of adjustment.

It will be understood that when the finger 24 of the fork arm 22 is positioned in the opening 25 in the pawl carrier 26, as shown in Fig. 6, the pawl 34 stands in an extreme lateral position, but nevertheless the edge of the pawl will engage the shoulder 35 of the pendulum l5 and thus actuate the pendulum and, therefore, actuate the rufiling blade at each upward stroke of the needle bar, thus making a rufile at every stitch of the machine. This is the position of the parts when the device is employed as a single-stitch ruiiler and the mechanism for employing the attachment as a six-stitch or a twelve-stitch ruiiler will now be described.

Rotatably mounted upon the pivot pin H1 is a ratchet wheel 50 of the form shown in Fig. ll. This ratchet wheel is provided on its periphery with ten shallow teeth 5| and two deep teeth 52 and, as shown in Fig. 9, is mounted on the pivot pin |4 adjacent the frame member If). The teeth of this member are adapted to be engaged by the pawl 34 when the pawl carrier is in the position shown in Fig. 3, or in the position shown in Fig. 5, but the pawl does not engage this member when the pawl carrier is in the position shown in Fig. 6. If the pawl carrier is in the position shown in Fig. 5, it will engage one of the teeth of the ratchet wheel at each stroke of the needle bar, and the ratchet wheel will be rotated through one step at each such stroke. However, when the pawl engages the shallow teeth 5! of the ratchet wheel, it will not be permitted to engage the shoulder 35 on the pendulum l5 as it is held above this shoulder and, therefore, the pendulum will not be operated. When the pawl 34 slips into one of the deep teeth 52 of the ratchet wheel, it will be allowed to drop downwardly in front of the shoulder 35 and actuate the pendulum l5. Therefore, the pendulum and the rufiiing blade will be actuated at every sixth stitch effected by the attachment, there being five stitches made between each of the ruffling operations. This is the position of the parts when the device is used as a six-stitch rufiler and it will be noted that the numeral 6 is opposite the opening 25 in which the finger 24 stands, as shown in Fig. 5.

. Secured to the ratchet wheel 5|! is a masking wheel 54 of the form shown in Fig. 10. This masking wheel is rigidly secured to the ratchet wheel and rotates therewith. The masking wheel 54 is of smaller radius than the ratchet wheel 50, the periphery of the former extending substantially to the lower portion of the teeth 5i so as to cover up a considerable portion of the deep teeth or notches 52. The maskingwheel is, however, cut away segmentally as shown at 55 and this cut away portion is so positioned as to expose one of the deep teeth 52 of the ratchet wheel 50.

When the pawl carrier is in the position shown in Fig. 5, the pawl will engage both the ratchet wheel 59 and the shoulder 35, as described above, but will not engage the masking wheel 54. However, when the carrier is moved so that the finger 24 stands in the opening 25 of the pawl carrier, the pawl will be moved laterally to a point where it will engage the masking wheel 54 as well as the ratchet wheel and the shoulder 35. Upon the operation of the sewing machine with the parts in this position, the ratchet wheel will be moved one stepat-ea'ch reciprocation of the needle bar, but, as one of the deep teeth 52 is covered by the masking wheel 54, the pawl 34 will be permitted to drop into one of the deep teeth 52 of the ratchet wheel once only in every twelve reciprocations of the needle bar. Thus the pawl will be permitted to strike the shoulder 35 only once in every twelve stitches effected by the machine. In this position of the parts the device is a twelve-stitch miller and it will be noted that the numeral 12 appears opposite the opening 25 If the pawl carrier 26 is moved so that the finger 24 stands opposite the opening 32, the carrier will be held in the position shown in Fig.

7 due to the fact that this opening is not sufficiently large to receive the finger 24 although it will receive the extreme end of this finger and, therefore, catch upon the finger to a sufficient extent to be held in this position. In this raised position, it will be seen that the pawl 3d will not be in position to engage either the ratchet wheel '56 or the shoulder 35 and, hence, the fork arm greater return or down movement of the needle i bar before the rufiie blade l9 begins its return movement due to the engagement of the toe 35 against the cam 31. For this purpose, we have shown a modified form of our invention in Figs. 12 to 14: of the drawings in which the fork arm is formed separately from the element which engages the cam and is provided with a lost motion therewith.

Referring to these figures of the drawings, the fork arm is shown at pivoted as before upon the pin l4, and this arm is provided with an inwardly struck finger or lug 6| adapted to lie loosely within an elongated slot 62 in a lever 63 which is provided with an opening at to receive the pin l4 so that this member is also pivoted on the pin. The member 63 is provided with the toe portion 36 similar to the member 35 previously described, which portion is adapted to engage the rotatable cam 31. The member 63 also supports the pawl carrier 26 as before and is provided with the upstanding finger 24 with which the openings in this carrier engage. In other respects the parts are the same as those described in connection with Figs. 1 to 11.

It will be seen in the operation of this device that the fork arm 68 is permitted a certain amount of lost motion at the end of its stroke due to the lost engagement of the member 6| in the slot e2. Upon the down stroke, this will delay the return action of the milling blade in order to give the needle a chance to enter the material before the feed blade starts its rearward movement.

While we have shown and described some preferred embodiments of our invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What we claim is:

- 1. A rufiler attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a pendulum lever pivoted at its upper end to the frame, a rufliing blade connected to said lever, a fork arm pivoted to the frame having means for connection to the needle bar of the sewin machine, a cam member adjustably mounted on said lever, means on the fork arm to engage said cam and move the lever in one direction, said cam member being pivoted to said lever and having a cam surface eccentric to the pivot, and means spaced from said pivot to secure said cam member in adjusted positions, said means including a member extending through an arcuate slot in the pendulum lever.

2. A rufiler attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a pendulum lever pivoted at its upper end to the frame, a ruifiing blade connected to said lever, a fork arm pivoted to the frame having means for connection to the needle bar of the sewing machine, a cam member adjustably mounted on said lever and having a transversely directed operating finger rearwardh of the pendulum lever, means on the fork arm to engage said cam and move the lever in one direction, said cam member being'pivoted to said lever and having a cam surface eccentric to the pivot, means spaced from said pivot to secure said cam in adjusted pivotal positions, and cooperating means on said lever and said cam member to indicate the positions of the latter.

3. A ruffler attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a pendulum lever pivoted at its upper end to the frame, a, rufiiing blade con nected to said lever, a fork arm pivoted to the frame having means for connection to the needle bar of the sewing machine, a cam member adjustably mounted on said lever, means on the fork arm to engage said cam and move the lever in one direction, said cam member being pivoted to said lever and having a cam surface eccentric to the pivot, said lever having a slot therein, and

securing means carried by the cam member and extending through said slot to secure the cam member in adjusted positions,

4. A rufiler attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a ruifling blade, a lever pivoted to the frame and connected to the blade and having a shoulder thereon, a fork arm, a pawl adjustably carried by the fork arm and adapted to engage said shoulder, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on the frame and having deep and shallow notches therein, a masking wheel secured to one face of the ratchet wheel, said masking wheel being of smaller diameter than the ratchet wheel to expose said shallow notches and being cut away segmentally to expose one of said deep notches, and means for adjusting said pawl to a position to engage both said masking wheel and ratchet wheel.

5. A rufiier attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a rufliing blade, a lever pivoted to the frame and connected to the blade and having a shoulder thereon, a fork arm, a pawl adjustably carried by the fork arm and adapted to engage said shoulder, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on the frame and having deep and shallow notches therein, a masking wheel secured to one face of the ratchet wheel, said masking wheel being of smaller diameter than the ratchet wheel to expose said shallow notches and being cut away segmentally to expose one of said deep notches, and means for adjusting said pawl to a position to engage both said masking wheel and ratchet wheel and also to a position to engage said ratchet wheel and be disengaged from said masking wheel.

6. A rufller attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a ruffling blade, a lever pivoted to the frame and connected to the blade and having a shoulder thereon, a fork arm, a pawl adapted to engage said shoulder, and a pawl supporting lever pivoted to the frame andhaving a lost-motion connection with said fork arm.

7. A ruffler attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a rufliing blade, a lever pivoted to the frame and connected to the blade and having a shoulder thereon, a fork arm pivoted to the frame, a lever pivoted to the frame on the axis of said fork arm, and a pawl carried by said lever and adapted to engage said shoulder, said last-named lever having an opening therein and said fork arm being provided with a lug loosely received in said opening.

CARL G. BAEI-IR. HERBERT H. RUSSELL.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Seitz Oct. 15, 1889 Number 

